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Draw Inspiration From Anjan

Kochi/Ernakulam: “I may not speak like you, hear like you and move like you. But I do
want to do things like you,” these words were the first and foremost
thing that hit me when I flipped through the Facebook page of Anjan
Sathish.

I felt a sense of curiosity and doubts swept through my
mind. But once I reached ‘Anjanam’, my doubts were put to rest. I was
welcomed by this charming shy boy with a wide beam. He showed his work
one by one. It included pencil drawings, acrylic painings, 3D models and
at last caricatures. His eyes twinkled in excitement while we thumbed
through his work.

Anjan Sathish; the inborn talented artist has
cerebral palsy that impairs his speech, hearing and locomotive
functions. But these disabilities hardly hamper his talents as an
artist.

“Within hours of his birth, we came to know that
something was wrong with our son. He was not like any other child and
that fact shattered us completely, says his father N Satheesh Kumar, a
manager at Federal Bank.

Anjan’s parents were not ready to
accept fate as it was. They regained their strength for their son to
make him strong to face the society fearlessly. But a long list of woes
was awaiting this couple. They discovered that Anjan had some problem
with his eyesight. The test results disclosed that he had glaucoma in
both eyes and right away surgeries were done. But fate continues to mock
the family with its evil grin.Anjan was unable to move and his legs
remain stiff and inflexible. Later his mother Lathika, an assistant in
High Court found out that that her son was not responding to her words
too. At last, the parents took their son to AIIMS, New Delhi and after a
string of checkups, the doctors revealed the name of that much dreadful
disease - Cerebral Palsy.

There begins a new era for the family.
Anjan’s parents admitted him in Raksha Institute of Special Education
Mattanchery for special training. Later Anjan underwent regular
physiotherapy sessions and lip reading classes from Mukundan Memorial
Speech and Hearing Centre.

“We decided to stand with him to
fight against all odds”, says his father. During this tough time, his
mother took a long five year break from her profession to look after her
toddler.

However, problems surfaced during his school
admissions. Many institutions including some Government schools declined
to enroll a multiply disordered child. Later St. Mary’s LP School near
their house came forward to accept Anjan and at the age of five, he
entered the world of letters. Though he finds it difficult to learn the
complexities of the language, with the support of his family, Anjan
managed to pass his tenth exams with sixty percent marks.

“In
fact, Anjan is a brilliant in mathematical equations and formulae,”
added his proud father. Owing to his interest in animation and cartoons,
Anjan got admission at Toons Academy, Trivandrum and has successfully
completed the training in Animation.

The young artist is also a
member of KCA (Kerala Cartoon Academy) and his colleagues certified that
he is a regular face in camps and trainings conducted by the academy.
He had already bagged numerous awards like Rotary International special
talent award, Medal in art at the National Abilimpics, Chennai while his
first award was the Amrita Keerthy Puraskaram at the age of eight.

Anjan the artist

The twenty four year old boy’s talents are not just confined to painting
skills only. He is an avid reader and a good blogger too. Of course,
his updated knowledge on current affairs reflected in his work also. “He
loves to sketch caricatures about newsmakers and current events. In one
of his drawings, he sarcastically sketches the politics behind
politics.” The double stand of politicians, sports players in action and
celebrities have also become the subject of Anjan’s passion. He had the
rare opportunity to present his works to former President A P J Abdul
Kalam and Oscar winner Resul Pookutty.

Now being a faculty in arts and computer at Adarsh Special School, Anjan
is elated to work with students suffering from Cerebral Palsy, learning
syndrome and Down’s Syndrome. Who else can feel the pain they hold to
themselves, other than him who has flown over all these problems in
flying colours.

Hi Aditya , As Secretary of the KERALA CARTOON ACADEMY, of which he is one of the most hardworking members, I feel really happy to know that Anjan is getting more and more famous and needed. You may contact Sri Sathish (father) at Tripunithura on his 9446206985 . BEST WISHES, ANJAN :)